Make no doubt about it: golf is fast becoming one of the most competitive of college sports, especially in women’s sports. Here is a practical look at the college golfing scholarship opportunities you must not miss.
NCAA Golfing Scholarships
The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) provides golf scholarships to both men and women. The NCAA sponsors 289 Division I and 210 Division II Men’s golf programs. Sounds like a lot of potential dough? What you must understand is that the NCAA places scholarship limits on athletic programs. Each D1 men’s golf program is permitted 4.5 scholarships and each D2 men’s program is permitted 3.6 scholarships. That’s just over 2056 men’s golf scholarships.
Women’s golfing is faring even better. The NCAA sponsors 235 D1 and 128 D2 Women’s golf programs. D1 women’s golf teams are limited to 6 scholarships and D2 teams to 5.4. That’s a bit over 2101 women’s golf scholarships permitted for NCAA teams.
The good news about golf scholarships:
Golf is an equivalency sport . Coaches may divvy up their scholarship dough as many ways as they want. For example, Coach “Abe” at University of Z has 4.5 scholarships for his D1 men’s golf team. He is only limited by the dollar amount contained in 4.5 scholarships, but he doesn’t have to limit his scholarship dollars to 4.5 actual golfers; he can split it up, offer partial scholarships to as many golfers as he would like.
What does this mean for you? There are most likely many more golfing scholarships than the numbers show; many are partial and could even be augmented with academic and need-based scholarships in order to recruit the right athletes.
Scholarships You May Be Missing
Besides the NCAA there are two other leading collegiate athletic associations: the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). If you are not looking at your opportunities within the NJCAA and NAIA, you are eliminating yourself from excellent and less competitive golf scholarships.
Guess where many golf scholarships go unused? At two-year colleges. The NJCAA sponsors collegiate men’s golf in three divisions and women’s golf in one. Scholarships at the NJCAA member colleges are much less competitive: not enough students know about them and coaches don’t know what talent is available to them. But this is no indication of level of play: golf at the junior college level can be cutthroat. Here then is how you can gain a clear advantage.
The NAIA also offers extremely competitive men’s and women’s golfing programs. Again many programs are eclipsed by NCAA coverage, but here are talented golfers and scholarship opportunities.
Division III Golf: How to Get a Scholarship at a D3 School
Many college sports enthusiasts regularly report that the level of golfing at D3 schools is exceptional. However, D3 programs are not sanctioned to offer athletic scholarships in any association. Guess what? This does not mean that coaches have no recruitment strategy in place. No one said D3 schools couldn’t offer academic and need-based scholarships and plenty do just this. Their strategy? Attract the best student golfers they can that have equally impressive academic records or are able to demonstrate a deep financial need for monetary aid. You could be one of these student golfers.
Best Golfing Programs
Some killer golfing programs in all divisions include:
MEN
•UCLA (NCAA D1)
•Georgia Tech (NCAA D1)
•Rollins College (NCAA D2)
•Florida Southern (NCAA D2)
•St. Johns (NCAA D3)
•Oklahoma City (NAIA)
•Midland College (NJCAA D1)
WOMEN:
•Duke (NCAA D1)
•UCLA (NCAA D1)
•Rollins College (NCAA D2)
•Florida Southern (NCAA D2)
•University of the Redlands (NCAA D3)
•Oklahoma City (NAIA)
•Daytona Beach Community College (NJCAA)
Laying the Groundwork for Getting a Golf Scholarship
Student golfers must typically be a bit more market savvy than say their football or basketball counterparts. Here are basic pointers for making sure your golf game is ready to be sold to coaches:
•If you will try for NCAA scholarships make sure you register with the NCAA’s Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse, a requirement for athletes shopping NCAA scholarships.
•Improve your chances with coaches when you prove experience in a variety of tournaments, including various video segments from tournaments that demonstrate your versatility with different types and skill levels of players and a variety of courses.
•College coaches are unable to talk to you about recruitment until your junior year in high school.
Golf Scholarships You Don’t Want to Miss
National Minority Junior Golf Scholarship Association/Tiger Woods Foundation
These generous scholarships symbolize the partnership of two minority forces in golf. The intent is to award scholarship money for the encouragement and support of minority youth golfers as they perfect their sport and pursue a college education. Student golfers vie for 5-$2,000 scholarships.
LPGA Scholarship Foundation
The LPGA sponsors three scholarships for college-bound female golfers. The Dinah Shore Scholarship extends one $5,000 scholarship to an outstanding female entering college. The winner must not be planning on playing golf at the college level. The Marilynn Smith Scholarships go to 2 female high school golfers who are planning on competing at the college level. Awards are $3,000. The Phyllis Meekins Scholarship goes to a minority high school female golfer enrolling in a college and planning on competing in golf. Eligible applicants must demonstrate financial need. Award is $1,250.
The AT&T Pebble Beach Junior Golf Association Scholarships
The AT&T Pebble Beach Junior Golf Association annually sponsors half a dozen very generous four-year golfing scholarships. Eligible applicants must be graduating high school seniors enrolling in a four-year college in the U.S.